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Should the innocent have to hide too?

Last year I saw a film called Taking Liberties and came away feeling that really stuck in my throat that was a strange mixture of rage, anger and sadness. I’d say the sadness is actually the strongest emotion that I feet overall.

This film was not ‘entertainment’, infact towards the end I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed by it all, but it kept me gripped because, unlike most cinema flicks, this is real, this is happening, this is the country I live inright now! As I watched in disbelief I was transformed through anger to rage, through the whole spectrum of emotions by the actions and words of those who we once considered to the be the Servants of Society: our politicians and our police.

One by one many of the liberties that we as UK subjects have taken for granted were shown to be no longer reliable. Right to protest, Free speech, Privacy, Inocent until proven guilty, Extradition and Torture were all highlighted and real cases were examined.

The premise of this film is that we are turning in to a police state, if a rather badly organsied one. That somehow police and politicians had become our masters and we their servants. On it’s own that statement can be easily scoffed at. But the evidence was there on screen to see, and it was unnerving and slightly sinister. Using a mixture of police footage and protestor’s footage, a rather peculiar picture began to emerge: police with unprecedented powers unable to control the itch to use these powers.

It was like watching Teineman Square in minature, or a communist state in operation. The comparison to the Nazzi’s was startling, but there was no denying the similarities of method, even if the motive was slightly different.

The laws that have been passed that allow these things to go on, political will and control enacted by the police, may not be used against the innocent so much at this time. But if there comes a day when there are leaders or governments who like the taste of power too much, now there is no stopping them and we are all under suspicion.

Many refer to the erosion of our liberties, and what a great metaphor. Like a cliff face, once the process of erosion starts, it is very difficult to protect further and the land becomes more vulnerable piece by piece until it is swallowed up. For good.

At two hours this film may be too much for many to take, but I really urge you to try it, see it and witness what our country really is like today. And if you think, “nothing to hide, nothing to fear” – then just tread carefully as it might just be your turn next…